


For the Love of Photography

by hopespym



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Emotions, Fluff, M/M, Photography
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 18:26:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15273591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopespym/pseuds/hopespym
Summary: It's Bucky's opening night at his exhibition, but before anyone else comes in to see just what's in store, his partner Tony gets a first look.Winteriron Bingo: Advertisement B1





	For the Love of Photography

 

Getting out of the car, they were immediately blinded by flashing lights as they held hands and sifted through the crowd of cameras with ease. Looking towards Tony with a smirk once they had stepped inside, he looked towards his partner, "Usually I'm the one  _ with _ the camera."

“Usually I’m the main attraction, not today - that one goes to you babe.”

With a smile on his face, the two entered the room where Tony was the first person to officially view Bucky’s exhibition. 

He had the advertisement that showed the time and place for Bucky’s exhibition held tightly in his hand, though he was trying not to crinkle it. Even though he knew Bucky could get a new one without hassle. It was only a small, about half the size of an A4 paper, it was a light pink colour with one of Bucky’s pictures from the exhibition on the front. It was a standard portrait of a woman's face, but there was a way that Bucky had left in the imperfections and the expression in her eyes that really sold it. There were, of course, other things on it like a little doodle of white leaves in the corner, but they weren’t all that important anymore. Not when he was standing in the middle of Bucky’s hard work.

Tony let go of the metal hand, the advertisement still in his hand as he started to walk slowly through the exhibition, taking in the overall imagery and feel before taking a closer look at each individual section. Most of the photos were just photos of peoples faces, pure and raw and Tony then noticed a few sneaky pictures that Bucky had taken of Tony when he was unaware.

Continuing to walk along the walls without Bucky by his side, Tony was starting to get overwhelmed with emotion as he realised that the theme of his exhibition was love and misfortune, something that the two had shared a lot of together. Some stories were so mixed that it was hard to tell whether it was one or the other, but it was very easy to see that every single photograph was raw, none of it was fake. Something Tony knew Bucky took a lot of pride in.

Tony started reading through some of the interview answers and his heart melted.

**What's one thing you wish you could tell your partner?**

_ That even when I can't say that I love them, I love them. It's hard for me to express emotion with everything I've faced in life and I just want her to know that she's my world. I know it’s something that she struggles with, and I’m grateful every day that she stays by my side, but some days it’s harder to say than others. _

**Are you happy in your current relationship?**

_ Sometimes I'm more happy than other times. Relationships, to me, prove their strength by sorting through everything messed up and coming out alive and together. I believe that no relationship is perfect and there will always be obstacles, no matter what they are. No one is ever perfectly content in anything, and if they are, they’re lying. _

Tony took extra time to study each expression in the photos. He hadn't any idea that Bucky's exhibition would be as moving as it was, though he knew that Bucky had struggled with his own emotions a bit during the process of creating it. One time, after an interview that was particularly rough, Bucky had walked into their home with tears in his eyes and had just held Tony, telling him that he was loved. 

Bucky had been dabbling in photography for almost his whole life, never really taking it seriously until a few years ago. His best friend Steve had always been the one interested in photography and exploring different viewpoints, trying to see things how others would. Eventually his love for photography led to painting, which he was still doing now. Some of his works placed strategically around Bucky’s exhibition with full credit as sneak peaks for Steve's future exhibition in the same place.

What had really gotten Bucky into photography, though, was coming back from the war, down one arm and trying to explain just how he viewed different things now, not able to explain his emotions so freely when he felt too many things to place in one specific category or feeling.

When even therapy hadn’t worked completely he had picked up a camera and managed to take a somewhat awkward picture of the sky and a mountain on a gloomy day, travelling for a bit which helped to clear his mind and give him some peace. He then waited until a sunny day when his friends went to the beach, snapping a photo of everyone having fun and laughing, smiling down at the moment he had captured. 

When he had gone to therapy next, he hadn’t tried to talk about his feelings at any length. Knowing that would only make him frustrated and talk about his feelings of anger, rather than the others, he merely pulled out printed versions of the pictures he had taken and said, “Most days I feel like this one, grey, gloomy, uninterested with no hope. People want me to be like this, laughing, happy, vibrant, when I can’t be and it makes me feel like the skies are getting even greyer.”

It hadn’t been much of a big deal for him to say aloud. With the help of the pictures, he could easily connect the parts to himself without really having to think much about it. His therapist had merely smiled at him and told him that maybe he should look into turning photography into a hobby, suggesting that if he was feeling a certain mood, but not understanding it, he could go look for places where he might capture what explained, to him if no one else, just what he was feeling.

Listening to that advice had been hard at first, even with one arm, but he managed to take better photos and soon photos that explained his feelings turned into things he found memorable, and in no time it was simply passion that drove him to taking photos.

He had soon met Tony through getting his prosthetic arm and soon meetings about the arm and checking up on the arm to see how it was working and if it needed anything extra turned into dates and spending more and more time together, inevitably falling in love. 

Their relationship was nothing without it’s hardships though, but with every fight, every time Bucky fell into his shell and refused to come out or when Tony was spending too much time working, they continued to grow stronger and love each other more and more fiercely.

They were also nothing without the help of their friends though and Tony smiled when he moved on to another part that was focused on platonic love. It featured their own friends talking about each other, along with lifelong friends and new friends that Bucky had found along the way. Tony couldn’t help the grin getting bigger as he continued to read along, finding himself relieved in the fact that instead of focusing on  _ just _ romantic love, Bucky had focused on it all. He knew they were nothing without the love of their friends and Bucky knew that too.

There was also quite a large television in the middle of the room and looking closer Tony could see it was playing different sections of the interviews, Bucky mentioning it was parts that hadn't quite made the photographs but he thought still deserved a place in the exhibition as he noticed Tony taking a closer look at what it was showing.

Moving along to the last section it was completely full with photos of Tony and Bucky throughout their time together, whether they were alone or they were together. He noted some from lazy days, or when they had been out on dates. Tony’s mouth twitched when he noticed some from when they had some fights. The subtle location and pictures of Tony slouched over a couch, hands pulling at his hair made him go a bit misty eyed for a moment. The point of the exhibition definitely came across even in just the section about them. Each photo, no matter what mood they were in or what they were doing, showcasing real, raw emotion.

Tony walked back to Bucky then, who was standing in the same place as Tony had left him, and smiled as he stood directly in front of him, taking both of his hands in his own, "I love it, so much."

"I'm glad you do, you inspired me the most." Tony blushed lightly and looked down towards the ground before looking up at Bucky with a bigger smile, "You're such a sap."

Bucky let out a soft chuckle and leaned forward, whispering, "It's because I love you” before he kissed Tony. There was no hesitation in Tony’s actions as he placed his hand on the back of Bucky’s neck and held him closer before pulling away from the kiss and resting their foreheads together, "I love you."

They stayed standing for a few more moments before Tony pulled away, tears in his eyes and a wider grin on his face. He clapped his hands, “Right! Shall we open this to the public?”

“All for nothing if we didn’t.”

They started walking towards the door and Bucky gripped Tony’s hand in his own - flesh on flesh as they opened the door to the crowd waiting to get in.

\----------

**LOVE, PAIN, AND A WHOLE LOT OF TEARS**

_ as we all know, the up and coming photographer James Barnes has opened his first public exhibition to the this week after releasing teasers in the past few months about what it would hold and a few select images that didn’t reveal all that much. _

_ many were interested in going and on the night more people than expected showed up to the opening night to really see what the fuss was about and whether it lived up to expectations - and to put it short, it exceeded expectations further than any of us could have guessed. _

_ being an art critic for many-a years now, we see that the theme of "love" has been overused in every sense possible, yet just when we thought we'd seen it all and would rather die than go to another exhibition about love, Barnes has successfully pulled us all to our senses and shown us what love is  _ **_really_ ** _ about rather than our hollywood expectations with his theme of "love and misfortune." _

_ with interviews from everyday normal people, along with his own take on love in his relationship with one Tony Stark - something and someone that is focused on greatly, we get a massive sense of rawness and reality, a big relief and something dearly missed to this critic after years of false expectations of love. _

_ I mustn't say more and ruin it for those who haven't yet been or seen pictures floating online, but i for one would rate this exhibition a firm five stars. _

_ I haven't seen a whole group of people moved to tears so quickly in my entire life, and the tears were still fresh on cheeks even as some left. _

_ we wish Mr. Barnes much luck with his future and look forward to seeing what he does next and what he does with it.  _

**_dawn campbell_ ** **_  
_ ** **_\- art critic_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Leave some feedback?  
> Find me on tumblr: @wandaqmaximoff


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